Folding Scoop

The present invention relates to a particulate laundry composition scoop.

Moulded plastic laundry scoops are known, however the use of plastic scoops has been criticised for the ultimate addition of plastic into the environment. Paper/paperboard scoops such as disclosed in US5301870 and US1163615 reduce the environmental impact of scoops.

An objective of the invention is to provide an improved scoop for dosing and dispensing a particulate laundry composition which can be made from environmentally acceptable material

Accordingly, in a first aspect, the present invention provides a folding scoop suitable for scooping a particulate laundry composition, the scoop comprising:

a) a handle comprising a compressed concertina formation

b) an open-ended reservoir comprising a base wall and side walls wherein the side walls of reservoir are continuous with and, in use, compressive upon the concertina formation thereby providing the handle.

With the invention the user can simply grasp the side walls (ideally between finger and thumb) to compress the concertina portion, which creates the handle automatically without any complicated procedures. This action also effects erection of the reservoir, making erection a very simple procedure. Accordingly, the erection can be effected by a light pinch.

Preferably the reservoir includes a tapered portion which tapers inwardly in the direction of the handle. Preferably the tapered wall is inclined upwardly in the

direction of the handle. This tapered wall may abut the sidewalls as the concertina formation is compressed to provide a strong structure for scooping particulate laundry compositions. Such a strong structure is advantageous in the case of dense/easily clogged compositions or compositions where a large dose is needed and so a substantial amount of force (weight force, friction force, force from the users hand etc.) is transmitted to the scoop.

Preferably the concertina is defined by at least one peak fold line defining a peak, preferably a central peak, of the concertina formation.

Preferably the concertina is defined by at least two fold lines defining two troughs of the concertina formation. Preferably these are respective sides of the peak.

Preferably the tapered portion is defined by two tapering fold lines and more preferably one continuous V-shaped fold line. Preferably this intersects with and is contiguous with the peak fold line of the concertina formation, thereby forming a Y-shaped fold.

The sidewalls may be defined by respective longitudinal fold lines to enable tight fitting of the side walls around the tapered section. Preferably there are folds in the side walls corresponding to the apex and/or base of the tapered section.

The base of the tapered section may be defined by a fold line. This fold line may then form the intersection between the base wall and tapered section.

The open-ended reservoir base wall may be defined by fold lines.

The fold lines may be provided by scoring and/or pre-folding of the scoop material.

The folding scoop may be formed from a sheet material which may be a rectangle or square. No cutting is required, although scoring can be used to effect fold lines.

The fold scoop may be provided as a flat sheet and preferably it is provided with fold lines. It may be provided a with the side walls pre-folded in onto the base of the reservoir, so that scoop erection is thereby facilitated.

One or more walls which become superposed during erection may be pre-glued, to provide a sift-proof scoop.

As used herein, "particulate" includes powders, granules, agglomerates, beads, noodles and film particles and may include encapsulated laundry components.

Preferably the scoop is coloured so that it corresponds with the predominant colour of the package.

Various non-limiting embodiments of the invention will now be more particularly described with reference to the following figures in which:

Figure 1 shows the scoop in a partially folded state prior to erection by pinching ;

Figure 2 shows the scoop of figure 1 after erection; and

Figure 3 shows the blank of Scoop.

Referring to the drawings, a folding scoop 1 is shown, the scoop being suitable for scooping a particulate laundry composition. The scoop comprises a handle comprising a compressed concertina formation 25 and an open-ended reservoir 27 comprising a base wall 15 and side walls 17, 19, 21 , 23. The side walls 17, 19, 21 , 23 of reservoir 27 are continuous with and, in use, compressible upon the concertina formation 25 thereby providing the handle 31.

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The reservoir includes a tapered portion 33 which tapers inwardly in the direction of the handle 31. Preferably the tapered portion 33 is inclined upwardly in the direction of the handle 31. In use, this tapered portion 33 abuts the sidewalls 21 , 23 as the concertina formation 25 is compressed to provide a strong structure for scooping a particulate laundry composition (not shown). Such a strong structure is advantageous in the case of dense/easily clogged compositions or compositions where a large dose is needed and so a substantial amount of force (weight force, friction force, force from the users hand etc.) is transmitted to the scoop 1.

The concertina 25 is comprises a central peak defined by a central fold line 5. Two further fold lines 3, 7 defining two troughs of the concertina 25. These troughs are located on respective sides of the peak.

The tapered portion is defined by two tapering fold lines 9 and 11 , which form one continuous V-shaped fold line, seen more clearly in figure 2. This intersects with and is contiguous with the peak fold line 5 of the concertina formation 25, thereby forming a Y-shaped fold line.

The sidewalls 17, 19, 21 , 23 are defined by respective longitudinal fold lines 3,7 to enable tight fitting of the side walls 17, 19, 21 , 23 around the tapered section 33. Transverse folds in the side walls 13 correspond to the apex of the tapered section enables a tight fit. A further embodiment incorporates transverse lines 35 corresponding with the apex of the tapered section. However, it may be advantageous to omit some or all of these fold lines for a more rigid structure as the stress of the sidewalls compresses the concertina further.

The base of the tapered section is defined by the fold line 13. This fold line forms the intersection between the base 15 and tapered section 13.

The fold lines may be provided by scoring and/or pre-folding of the scoop material.

The folding scoop is formed from a simple rectangular sheet of paperboard. No cutting is required, although scoring can is used to effect fold lines.

The fold scoop may be provided as an unerected blank or pre-folded. It may be provided a with the side walls 17,19,21 ,23 pre-folded in onto the base and uncompressed concertina portion of the reservoir, so that scoop erection is thereby facilitated.

One or more walls which become superposed during erection may be pre-glued e.g. wall portions 21 and 23 may be pre-glued so that they adhere to portions 39 and 41 , to provide a scoop with improved sift-proof properties.

It is of course to be understood that the invention is not intended to be restricted to the details of the above embodiment which are described by way of example only.